Portable electronic devices, such as cell phones and compact computers, need an efficient circuit configuration that occupies a small volume. Conventional connectors consume excessive package volume and printed circuit board area. As functionality increases, the demand for volume reduction becomes increasingly important, especially for slim-profile casings. The limitations of space and height for configuring connectors on a printed circuit board necessitates that the connectors be utilized in a vertically-stacked fashion, such that the connector-occupied area can be minimized, conserving valuable real estate on the surface of the circuit board for other components and circuitry.
Although a stacked configuration can save valuable configuration space on a circuit board to allow for optimal use, multiple connectors stacked together commonly influence and interfere with electrical properties of one another. For instance, a video connector transmits analog signals and a serial connector transmits digital signals are often stacked together. In prior techniques where a conventional vertically-stacked connector is employed to connect both a video connector transmitting analog signals and a serial connector transmitting digital signals, transmission interference of the analog and digital signals is likely to occur, thereby adversely affecting signal quality and the reliability of transmission.
Therefore, a need exists for a novel stacked connector structure that not only minimizes the total occupied volume and occupied area of a printed circuit board (PCB) but also can effectively reduce electromagnetic interference caused by the stacked configuration of connectors.